1938 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-012

Description

Class II distorted hub doubling on this twelfth doubled die obverse for the inaugural 1938 Jefferson Nickel documents a hubbing anomaly from the very first year of Felix Schlag's award-winning design. Attributed by Brian A. Ribar and cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID 1938 WDDO-012, the die markers are extensive: on the obverse, a die gouge protrudes from the lower right side of Y of LIBERTY, a slanted die gouge sits inside the lower portion of 3 of the date, and two die gouges appear below US of TRUST; on the reverse, a die gouge between I and T of UNITED provides a secondary attribution point. Schlag won a public design competition in 1938 to create the Jefferson Nickel, which replaced the Buffalo (Indian Head) Nickel that had been in production since 1913. The original 1938 design underwent minor modifications before production, and the dies for the inaugural year were prepared with particular care given the new design's debut. Twelve documented DDOs from the first year indicates that even with careful die preparation, the hubbing process produced detectable misalignments. Class II hub distortion creates spreads that vary in direction across the design, distinguishing it from the uniform rotational shift of Class I doubling.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian A. Ribar
• Wexler Variety ID: 1938 WDDO-012
• Expert attribution by Brian A. Ribar

External References